Once Upon a Dream
by cherylwoo
Summary: Kuroko is an immortal who has the power to heal. Akashi is a mortal human being who happened to move into his grandfather's house at the edge of the forest Kuroko lives in. They are brought together by fate in the form of Akashi's cat. This is a supernatural AU.
1. Chapter 1

A/N – This is my first major AU in the KnB fandom. So, I hope I haven't made the characters too OOC, but if I have, I apologise in advance! I have read many stories whereby Akashi is the supernatural one, the most common trope with him being an immortal vampire. I tried to do things differently by making Kuroko the immortal one instead, and I hope it works. And like all my other stories, I've tried to incorporate my other OTP in this fandom, Aokise; only, I made them… different. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the story!

" _I'm sorry, Kuroko. But I've met someone else – Takahiro-sama. He comes from a distinguished family and is a scholar, and I like him better. Nonetheless, the time I spent with you has been… fun, I guess?"_

Kuroko's eyes snapped open. _A flashback, huh?_ He grunted and rolled over onto his stomach. Sometimes, Kuroko would get memories of his past relationships. The thing about Kuroko was that when he fell in love, he loved deeply. So, when the other party broke up with him, it hit Kuroko hard. After experiencing a broken heart one too many times, Kuroko decided to move into the forest and cut off contact with the human world. He swore to himself that he would never fall in love again – he couldn't bear to have his heart broken again.

Well, cutting off contact with humans was easier anyway. Kuroko had been granted immortality with the duty to heal the weak, injured and dying by the gods when he was a young man, as he was very compassionate towards living beings. All in all, Kuroko had been alive for a number of centuries, and explaining to the human acquaintances he had made on why he did not age would be a very difficult thing to do. Human beings were after all not very accepting of things that they were not accustomed to. Therefore, Kuroko mostly focused his efforts on the wildlife in the woods. The animals were more prone to more serious injuries and Kuroko had a small animal hospital at the back of his cottage where he would nurse them back to health after applying his healing magic on them. Occasionally, he would get a tracker or two who had a sprain or twisted a joint from strenuous activity – Kuroko would heal them and they would be off on their merry way, thanking Kuroko but never staying more than a few hours.

Kuroko felt a rough tongue on the back of his neck. He turned his head to the right to see a leopard looking at him with a concerned appearance. Kuroko smiled, and reached out to rub the leopard's head. "Don't worry – I'm alright, Kise-kun."

Kise's expression relaxed and he licked Kuroko's face affectionately.

"Where's Aomine-kun? Out hunting again?" Kuroko asked, rolling onto his back to face Kise properly.

Kise jumped up and down excitedly before running off to prepare to greet his mate when he got home with the spoils of the day.

Aomine and Kise were a black panther and leopard pair that had escaped a zoo. They had wound up at Kuroko's door when Kise had gotten his paw caught in a leg-hold trap set by human hunters. Kuroko took Aomine and Kise in, and removed the trap from Kise's front paw. But the trap had done a lot of damage because the two large cats had been running around trying to remove it only to further aggravate the injury, and Kuroko's healing magic could only do so much. Kuroko had bandaged Kise's paw up and gave him a herbal remedy to put him to sleep so that he would not be in so much pain. Aomine had been on vigil all night, staying by Kise's side, never sleeping a wink until Kise's paw was fully healed. At that time, Kuroko didn't know their names and merely referred to them as "panther-san" and "leopard-san". But after reading their thoughts (an ability Kuroko could use with animals, but he tried not to do it too often, as he treated animals like people and thought even they deserved their privacy; he usually only used this ability when the situation was dire), Kuroko learnt their names and that they were mates. Even after Kise recovered, Aomine and Kise refused to leave Kuroko's home and stayed with Kuroko as his indirect bodyguards to repay Kuroko for his kindness towards them. Because they stayed in such close proximity to Kuroko, Kuroko's immortality must have rubbed off on them, as neither Aomine nor Kise showed any signs of aging or dying even though it had been nearly three hundred years.

Kuroko wasn't aware that he had fallen asleep again until a soft whimper sounded from above him. He slowly opened his eyes. The piercing gaze of a black panther met Kuroko's blank stare. Aomine was leaning over Kuroko with his two front legs and studying Kuroko closely. It seemed apparent that Kise might have somehow informed him of Kuroko's earlier grunting.

"Welcome back, Aomine-kun," said Kuroko. "What did you hunt down today?" In all honesty, Kuroko wasn't too fond of hunting down and killing prey in cold blood for sustenance (once a month, he usually travelled a fair distance out of the forest to the local market to buy his food and necessities), but Aomine and Kise were members of the _Carnivora_ order, which meant that they were meat-eating creatures, depending entirely on meat for their nutrition. Aomine and Kise were natural predators, and Kuroko was not about to prevent them from behaving naturally.

Aomine placed his front legs on the ground. He looked at Kuroko, tilting his head towards the back of the cottage, where the carcass of whatever poor animal that had met its demise by Aomine's teeth and claws probably lay.

Kuroko chuckled and got up from the couch he had been napping on. "Yes, yes… I'll go take a look," he told Aomine, patting the black panther on the head as he made his way out through the back.

When Kuroko stepped out of his house, he could see Kise already feasting on a dead wild boar. The first thought that crossed Kuroko's mind was: _Holy crap, that animal is huge! I wonder how Aomine-kun brought it back here._ But then again, it didn't come as a huge surprise to Kuroko – Aomine was very strong. Judging from the size of that wild boar, it could probably last Aomine and Kise at least three days.

From behind Kuroko, Aomine quietly approached Kise and licked him tenderly behind the ear. But Aomine's mouth didn't even go near the carcass – he wouldn't eat until Kise was done. In a sense, Kuroko thought, it was rather sweet of Aomine, because regardless of which of them caught their meal, Aomine always let Kise eat first. Aomine would only indulge himself after he was certain that Kise's hunger had been sated.

The good thing about Aomine and Kise was that they always cleaned up after themselves. One of them usually would bring back whatever he had killed to share with the other. And when they were done cleaning the meat off the bones of the animal, the other one would drag the skeleton far away from Kuroko's cottage to rot and return to nature so as not to attract insects and other scavenging creatures.

"Good on you guys, Aomine-kun and Kise-kun," Kuroko praised the cats. "You seem to be set for three days now, huh?"

Kise looked up at Kuroko, his mouth was full of boar meat and there was blood dribbling down his chin. He attempted to smile happily while chewing on his meal. It was, in a morbid way, kind of cute.

Kuroko turned around and walked back into the cottage. He raised his hand and waved at Aomine and Kise. "You two enjoy your meal," he said.

Aomine made a purr of contentment as he settled down on his stomach beside Kise, glad to watch his mate eat.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N - Thanks to a reviewer, I realised that I had posted my almost full story when I poster chapter 1. My apologies! If you could forget what you read in chapter 1, and re-read it again, it would be great - because I changed some elements in my story. Nothing major, but I think the new version is better. Sorry once again! And I hope you enjoy the story.

Kuroko had been tending to a hare that had been bitten by a fox in his animal hospital. The hare had barely managed to escape the fox, but its leg was wounded – a large chunk of flesh had been torn off its leg. Kuroko found it when he was making his way back to his cottage. Initially, Kuroko had the assumption that it had been injured by Aomine or Kise, but upon contemplation, such a small animal wouldn't be able to satisfy them – they wouldn't waste their energy chasing such small prey. Besides, the bite mark didn't look like it was caused by feline jaws – it looked more canine. Kuroko had healed its leg and brought it home to get it fed.

Just as Kuroko had set the plate of lettuce down for the hare to eat, he heard a soft meow from his door. Kuroko's head whipped around to see a cat's head peeking at him from the door.

"What do we have here?" Kuroko murmured to himself. He stood up and walked over towards the cat. He didn't see many domesticated cats in the forest. Wild cats, he had seen. This was perhaps the first domesticated cat to stop by his home.

The cat didn't seem to be afraid of Kuroko. Instead of shying away, it stepped out from its hiding place, revealing its full body. Apparently, it was a blue British Shorthair. It meowed again at Kuroko.

Upon observing the cat, Kuroko deduced it was not yet a fully grown adult. Yellow eyes gazed at him intensely.

Kuroko knelt down by the cat. "Are you hungry, neko-chan?" he asked, stroking the cat on its back.

The cat meowed in reply.

Kuroko laughed softly. "I take that as a yes." He picked up the kitten and brought it into his house. He placed the cat on the floor of his living room, right in front of Kise, who seemed to be stirring from his nap. "Kise-kun," Kuroko spoke softly, touching Kise's head gently. "Take care of this kitty for me, alright? I'm just going to prepare some fish for it."

Kise lifted his head where it was resting on his front paws, and raised an eyebrow at the cat. The cat stared back at him, expressionless. Kise leaned forward to sniff at the cat. The cat then licked Kise's nose.

As he was cutting up the fish for the kitten, Kuroko watched the cat and the leopard's interaction from the corner of his eye. Well, he didn't need to worry – they seemed to be getting along.

Just then, Aomine entered through the back door noisily, yawning as he made his way towards Kise. He nuzzled against the leopard's cheek before collapsing onto the ground beside Kise, resting his head on Kise's back.

Kise whined and tilted his head towards the cat. The black panther looked up at the feline and grunted. Kise whined again, and Aomine exhaled loudly. He laid his head back on Kise's body and closed his eyes, promptly falling asleep.

Kuroko hid a smile behind his hand. That Aomine could fall asleep so comfortably around a foreign creature in the cottage was certainly his way of accepting the cat.

Kuroko brought forward a bowl of raw fish slices and placed it in front of the kitten. Immediately, the cat dug into the fish, gulping it down hungrily.

"Excuse me?"

Kuroko's head shot up and he looked towards the front door which he had left ajar when he picked the cat up. A young man with blazing red hair was at the door.

"Oh, yes?" Kuroko quickly made his way to the entrance and opened the door wider. "Can I help you, sir?" As Kuroko peered into the man's face, he could see that the man had eyes that matched his red hair. He was also incredibly handsome, and Kuroko could feel his cheeks heat up.

"I… um, I'm looking for my cat," the man explained. "She got away from me when I was busy…" He looked flustered. "Well, she is a grey cat-"

"She's here," replied Kuroko. "She looked hungry, so I gave her some fish."

"Don't let her fake hungry look get to you," the man said. "She's a greedy little bugger."

"Well, she's here anyway," said Kuroko, stepping aside to let the red-haired man inside. "My name is Kuroko Tetsuya, by the way," he introduced himself with a bow.

"I'm Akashi Seijuurou, it's nice to meet you," said Akashi, bowing in return. He stepped in, and when he caught sight of Aomine and Kise, he took a step back in shock. "Whoa, are those a black panther and a leopard?"

"Huh?" Kuroko's eyes glanced at the two large cats in his living room. Kise had gone back to sleep, being extremely comfortable now that his mate's head was resting upon him. So much time had passed, Kuroko had become accustomed to Aomine and Kise's presence in his life that he had forgotten that it was generally a strange thing to be keeping such creatures as pets. "Oh… yes. The black panther's name is Aomine and the leopard's name is Kise. They're mates. They escaped from a zoo, and after I rescued Kise-kun from a hunter's trap, they kind of refused to leave."

Akashi chuckled. "They must like you a lot then," he commented.

Kuroko grinned. "I've become rather attached to them myself," he said.

Akashi then caught sight of the cat that was gobbling fish down like there was no tomorrow. He made his way towards his cat and positioned himself over her. "Tama," Akashi said exasperatedly, glaring down at Tama. "You're going to become obese if you keep eating like this," he scolded the feline.

Tama looked up at Akashi, meowed once, and resumed eating the fish.

"What am I going to do with you…" Akashi muttered, running his fingers through his hair.

"Since Tama has made herself comfortable, why don't you do so too, Akashi-san?" Kuroko asked. He had poured a cup of green tea for Akashi and was holding up the cup for him to take.

Akashi's eyes widened before his expression softened. "Akashi-san is my father," he said. "I'd rather not be referred to as 'Akashi-san'." He took the cup of tea from Kuroko and thanked him.

"Hm, I feel a little rude, though… since we're meeting for the first time and all that…" said Kuroko thoughtfully. "So, then can I call you 'Akashi-kun'?"

"That would be great," replied Akashi, smiling.

"Please have a seat," Kuroko invited Akashi, gesturing towards the two-seater couch. "By the way, how did you know that Tama would come into the forest?"

Akashi sat down and took a sip of his tea. "Well, it was the only logical place Tama would go. You see… I live nearby – I have actually just moved into my grandfather's house by the edge of the forest – I wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a while," he said. "I work as an author, and I have just started my sabbatical. I'll be living in my grandfather's house for the period of my sabbatical."

"Sabbatical?" inquired Kuroko. "Isn't that a long period of leave that old people take?"

Akashi laughed. "Well, usually. But not anymore in recent times," he said. "But I do feel like I've been writing for ages – I have been an author since my high school days after all. Which means that I have been writing for almost fifteen years. So you can say that this is a well-deserved break."

Kuroko nodded.

"But still…" Akashi mused. "I didn't quite expect to find anyone here, much less a person living in the forest," he commented.

Kuroko started. How would he explain that he had moved into the woods to cut off human contact because he was an immortal being? He hoped Akashi could not hear his heart hammering in his chest. "Er… I like the solitude," replied Kuroko.

"I see…"

"So… you say you've moved into your grandfather's house? Does that mean you're living with him now?" Kuroko asked.

"No… my grandfather died before I was born," said Akashi. "He left the house to my father, who left it to me when he passed away last month."

Kuroko looked down. "I'm sorry," he said.

Akashi smiled warmly. "Don't be," he told Kuroko. "I'm used to my father being absent from my life anyway – my mother died when I was a young boy, leaving me with no siblings, and my father would be so engrossed with his work that he barely spent any time with me. So I was left in the care of the servants he hired."

"It must have been very lonely for you," Kuroko remarked.

"Well, it was when I was younger," replied Akashi. "But I've gotten used to it. Besides, I made some good friends in school, so it wasn't too bad," he added.

"That's wonderful."

"How about you, Kuroko?"

"Huh?"

"What about your family?"

"Ah, my family," Kuroko muttered. "I'm an only child. And they left this world a long time ago," he said.

Akashi's expression brightened. "So we're somewhat alike!"

Kuroko laughed lightly. "Yes, I guess you could say that."


	3. Chapter 3

Kuroko placed the hare that had been in his animal hospital the day before onto the ground. Its leg was fully healed and thus, it could go back into the wild. "Okay, rabbit-san," Kuroko spoke gently. "You be careful now, alright?"

When the hare's legs touched the ground, it scampered away. Kuroko watched as the hare disappeared into the bushes.

Suddenly, Kuroko felt fur brush against his ankles and a soft meow. He looked down to see Tama affectionately rubbing against his leg. "Tama?" He bent down to pick the cat up. "Are you here alone again?"

Tama meowed, her tail swishing back and forth.

"Do you perhaps want more fish?" teased Kuroko, cradling Tama with one hand and scratching the bottom of Tama's chin lightly with the other. "I'm sorry, but I don't want Akashi-kun scolding me if you get too fat."

Kuroko looked towards Aomine and Kise, who were playfully wrestling. They weren't allowed to roughhouse inside the cottage, so they were playing outside. The black panther had pinned Kise down onto his back and was licking the leopard all over his face. Kise was not putting up much of a fight. In fact, he was enjoying Aomine's ministrations, as it looked like Kise was laughing in delight.

"Aomine-kun, Kise-kun," said Kuroko, walking towards the big cat pile on the ground.

Both Aomine and Kise froze. Aomine looked over at Kuroko.

"You remember Tama, don't you?" Kuroko held up the kitten. "Can you play with her until Akashi-kun gets here to collect her?"

Aomine got off Kise, while Kise rolled over and got onto his feet.

Kuroko placed Tama in between Aomine and Kise. The feline immediately dove towards Aomine's swinging tail.

Kuroko watched in amusement as Aomine jumped up in surprise when Tama managed to latch on to his tail, and Kise took this opportunity to tackle Aomine to the ground. Well, cats were cats, no matter the size.

Kuroko entered his house to tidy up the animal hospital. It wasn't that the animals he kept there were messy, but he had to make sure that the beds were clean for the next animal to use. It wasn't a proper hospital where disinfectant and alcohol were readily available, but Kuroko kept it as sanitary as he could.

Not long after, there was a knock on Kuroko's front door.

When Kuroko opened the door to greet his visitor, he was met with Akashi's apologetic grin. "I'm sorry, Kuroko, but is Tama here?"

Kuroko chuckled. "Yes, she is. She's playing with Aomine-kun and Kise-kun."

"Huh?" the red-head looked alarmed. "Is it safe? I mean… they're such big creatures…"

"Oh, don't worry," Kuroko assured Akashi. "Despite their size, Aomine-kun and Kise-kun really are big softies. Except to their prey, perhaps…" he added as an afterthought. "But come and see." Kuroko led Akashi out of the cottage through the back.

The three cats were running about. Aomine and Tama were chasing Kise around in circles. No doubt, they looked like they were having a good time.

"See? Nothing to worry about," Kuroko told Akashi self-assuredly.

Akashi was laughing heartily. "You're right. They are getting along well, aren't they?"

"Indeed," replied Kuroko with a smile. After a brief pause, he asked Akashi, "You have time to spare? You're free, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"I want to take you to my favourite place in this forest. It's a clearing with the most beautiful flowers."

* * *

 _This is bad, this is bad, this is bad… THIS IS REALLY REALLY BAD!_ Kuroko was curled up in his bed, buried underneath his blanket. For the past three weeks, Tama had appeared at his house every day without fail. And Akashi would come to bring her home. As Kuroko came into contact with Akashi, he found himself learning a lot about the red-haired author. Likewise, he found himself opening up to Akashi about himself. Kuroko was beginning to understand that he liked Akashi very much, even to the point that he might say that he had developed some sort of affectionate feelings for Akashi.

That wasn't how it was supposed to turn out! Kuroko lived in the woods to avoid human beings so that he wouldn't become attached to them. Besides, he promised himself that he wouldn't give his heart to anyone ever again. But it looked as though what Kuroko didn't want to happen was indeed happening.

Akashi was a kind man, judging from the way he treated the animals in Kuroko's animal hospital – he was always so gentle with them and gave them respect. When he found out that Kuroko was keeping animals in his home to recuperate, he had offered to help out any way he could. Even with Aomine and Kise, Akashi was always very pleasant towards them and greeted them warmly whenever they approached him. After all, Kuroko truly believed that the true character and the heart of a man could be judged by his treatment of his fellow animals.

Akashi also had a nice personality and was charming. He was an entertaining person to talk to, and never ran out of things to talk about. Speaking of which, from their conversations, Akashi seemed to be very knowledgeable, and Kuroko thought that he must be very smart.

Kuroko threw the blanket off his body. He sighed. It was no use brooding about his feelings for the red-head author. He just hoped that he could pull off a straight face without blushing too much and giving away what he felt while talking to Akashi later.


	4. Chapter 4

It was a cloudy evening when Akashi confessed to Kuroko.

The late afternoon was rather hot, so Kuroko had taken Akashi to a nearby stream to cool down. But by the time Akashi and Kuroko reached the stream, clouds had gathered in the sky and were obstructing the sun from reaching the earth. It was already starting to cool down. Nevertheless, Akashi still decided to make use of the stream, since he didn't want Kuroko's effort of bringing him there to go to waste. After removing his shoes, Akashi sat by the edge of the stream with his legs dangling into the water.

When Akashi noticed that Kuroko was just standing there, looking at his feet, he called for Kuroko.

Kuroko's head shot up.

"Come and sit with me. The water feels nice," said Akashi.

"Uh… ah, okay," Kuroko stuttered. Nevertheless, he took off his shoes and sat beside Akashi.

Akashi and Kuroko sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, before Akashi opened his mouth to speak. "Ano… Kuroko?"

Kuroko looked at Akashi curiously.

"You know how Tama has been going to your place every day? I… I think she's trying to set us up," explained Akashi. "And I think she's succeeding. Well, at least on my part anyway."

"Eh?"

Akashi avoided Kuroko's wide-eyed gaze by looking at his fists on his lap. "What I'm saying is… Well… I like you very much!" Akashi blurted out loudly. He had shut his eyes tightly, somewhat afraid of seeing Kuroko's reaction to his confession. "I think you are a remarkable person with such compassion and kindness… I… I have feelings for you!"

Kuroko stared at Akashi. If he was hearing things correctly, his feelings for Akashi were requited – Akashi felt the same way! The joy in his heart at Akashi's confession was indescribable. But… Kuroko was keeping a big secret from Akashi – Akashi didn't know that Kuroko was an immortal person with healing powers. Kuroko didn't want to enter a relationship with Akashi with such a secret.

Kuroko didn't say anything for a while. It was quiet. So, Akashi opened his eyes slowly and hesitantly to glance at Kuroko, who was still staring at Akashi with a blank expression.

"Kuroko?" Akashi uttered softly. He reached forward to take Kuroko's hand into his. "Kuroko? Please say something. It's okay if you reject-"

"I'm not rejecting you, Akashi-kun," Kuroko interrupted Akashi. "In fact, I feel the same way."

Kuroko did not miss Akashi's scared expression shifting into a happy grin.

"But…" Kuroko continued. "There's something important about me that I haven't told you."

"What is it, Kuroko?" asked Akashi, squeezing Kuroko's hand gently.

"I… I don't know how to tell you," said Kuroko. "I don't know how you'll react to it," he added.

"What do you mean?"

"You might not want to be in a relationship with me after you find out," explained Kuroko.

Akashi brought Kuroko's hand to his mouth and kissed it lightly, causing Kuroko to blush. "Whatever it is, at least let me hear it first? Then, I'll decide for myself."

Kuroko chewed on his lower lip. He was looking at Akashi with an uncertain expression. "I think… it's better that I show you," he told Akashi.

Akashi was gazing at Kuroko expectantly.

"But not right now. I will show you when the time is right," said Kuroko. "Can you wait?"

Akashi smiled at Kuroko affectionately. "I will wait for as long as it takes for you, Kuroko," replied Akashi.

Kuroko's blush turned a darker shade of red. "Don't say such embarrassing things, Akashi-kun!"

Akashi laughed. "Only you can make me say such things," he said. "I'll have you know that I have never said anything like this before."

"Akashi-kun…" Kuroko looked down into the stream. He couldn't bear to look at Akashi in the eye when he was so self-conscious.

"Kuroko," whispered Akashi. He placed his finger beneath Kuroko's chin and lifted Kuroko's head to face him. "Despite this, can I still see you? I promise I'll try to restrain myself-"

"Yes!" Kuroko blurted out hurriedly. He was sure Akashi was going to say something embarrassing again, and he wanted to avoid that.

"So, I am still welcome in your home?"

Kuroko's expression softened. "Of course, Akashi-kun."


	5. Chapter 5

It was when Akashi and Kuroko was on their way back to Kuroko's cottage from picking apples a month later that Kuroko demonstrated to Akashi his ability.

There was a young doe resting beneath a tree, licking a wound caused by a predator. Probably a fox or a wolf, judging from the shape and size of the claw marks on the deer's back.

Kuroko quietly approached the doe. It did not shy away. Nor did it get up and run away. It merely looked at him inquisitively. Because nobody ever came into the forest, when any animal sighted Kuroko, he was greeted with curiosity.

"Kuroko?" Akashi placed a hand on Kuroko's shoulder.

Kuroko put his hand on top of Akashi's and smiled at him reassuringly. He tilted his head as a gesture for Akashi to follow him.

Kuroko knelt down before the deer and placed his hand gently on the wound. At that, the deer started and flinched slightly. "Don't worry," Kuroko murmured in a comforting voice. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Then, a glow emanated from Kuroko's hand and soon, the claw marks on the deer's back disappeared. The deer's flesh had closed up. Since it was a minor wound, it could be fully healed with Kuroko's power. The doe was good to go. Kuroko rubbed the area he had healed before the deer got to its feet and scampered away.

Kuroko stood up to walk away. He turned around to face Akashi, who was gaping at him with a stunned expression. The basket of apples Akashi was holding had tilted, causing the apples to fall to the ground.

"Akashi-kun?" Kuroko waved his hand in front of Akashi's face. He grabbed Akashi's shoulder and shook him lightly. "Akashi-kun!"

Shaken out of his stupor, Akashi took a step back. "Have… have you always been able to do that?"

Kuroko sighed. "Maybe we should sit down. I am very sure you will need to sit down when you listen to what I am going to tell you." He plopped down onto the ground.

Akashi, too, sat down on the ground. He didn't speak, and Kuroko took the silence as his cue to begin his explanation.

"This was what I was referring to when I said that there was something that I haven't told you about me the day you confessed, Akashi-kun," said Kuroko. "And, to answer your question, I have been granted these powers, so I haven't always been able to do this. But I have been able to heal for a long time."

Akashi stared at Kuroko.

"With these powers, I have also been granted immortality. I have been alive for a few hundred years."

Akashi's eyes widened. "What?" he croaked.

"I have been alive for a few hundred years," repeated Kuroko. "A very long time," he stressed. "And I think my immortality has also affected Aomine-kun and Kise-kun, as they, too, have been alive for a long time."

Kuroko looked at Akashi, who was still gawking at him. Well, he didn't blame Akashi. Such information would take some time to sink in.

So, the two of them sat in silence for a while, as Akashi digested what Kuroko had just told him.

Finally, Kuroko said, "This is the reason I live in the forest – I cut off human contact so that nobody will find out that I am immortal. I mean, people will start asking questions when they notice that I don't age, and I don't really know how to explain this to them. I don't even know how people are going to react…"

There was a pause before Kuroko continued, "That's why I wanted you to know this first, before anything happened between us. You probably don't want to be together with a freak like me."

Suddenly, Akashi burst out laughing. "That's what you thought? That I don't want to be with you because you can live forever?" he asked. Akashi extended his arms and wrapped them around Kuroko's lithe body, bringing the blue-haired man closer to his body. "If anything, I think I love you even more now."

"Ha?"

"I was right, you know?" Akashi murmured into Kuroko's ear.

"About what?"

"That you're remarkable. That you're special. That you're one of a kind," replied Akashi, inhaling the scent of Kuroko's hair.

"That's-"

"Ne," Akashi said, pulling away from the hug to look at Kuroko in the eye. "Can I kiss you?"

"Y-yeah…"

Akashi leaned forward and planted a chaste kiss on Kuroko's lips. Akashi's lips were warm, soft and tender, and when Akashi kissed him, Kuroko felt his stomach fluttering in joy. Kuroko hoped that Akashi felt the same way. When Kuroko returned the kiss, Akashi got a little bolder, kissing Kuroko with more passion. This indicated to Kuroko that kissing him also most probably felt good to Akashi; this brought a sense of relief to Kuroko's heart.

When Akashi and Kuroko broke apart, Kuroko was rendered breathless. "So… what does this make us?" Kuroko asked.

"Well," Akashi began. "I'm saying that you being a supernatural being doesn't affect what I feel about you, so… I'm hoping that we could be together?" said Akashi hopefully.

Kuroko hoped that his decision to become Akashi's lover would not bite him in the ass like his previous relationships. He was breaking his vow to himself for this. But Akashi seemed like the type who was serious about whatever he did, and that also extended to his relationships. "I… I would like that too," replied Kuroko.

Akashi grinned cheerfully. He took Kuroko's hand and rubbed circles on the back of it. "Shall we pick these apples up and head back?"

"Okay."

* * *

When Akashi and Kuroko reached the cottage, hand-in-hand, Aomine and Kise were in the backyard feasting on what looked like a dead ungulate, judging from the size of the skeleton and the hoofed legs. Probably an antelope. Well, at least Aomine was. Kise looked like his hunger had already been sated and was content to watch Aomine wolf down his food.

Kise was the first to look up at Akashi and Kuroko's approaching figures. When he noticed that they were holding hands, his expression turned into a smirk. Kise made a sound, and Aomine, too, looked away from his food to stare at Akashi and Kuroko. He saw that they were indeed holding hands; he shot Kise a look that said, _I told you so._

"Akashi-kun, why don't you take the apples indoors and pick out a few for a salad?" said Kuroko. "I'm going to talk to these guys for a while."

Akashi nodded and let go of Kuroko's hand. "Okay."

When Akashi entered the cottage through the back door, he briefly wondered where Tama was. Since she wasn't with the large cats while they were eating, he had presumed that she would be inside. True enough, Akashi could see Tama sleeping soundly in Kuroko's shoe on the kitchen floor. She was indeed a true foodie – even while sleeping, she wanted to be near food.

Akashi poured the lot of apples from the basket into a bowl Kuroko kept on the dining table specially for fruit. Then, he took five apples from the lot and brought them to the kitchen counter.

From the kitchen window, Akashi could see Kuroko kneeling on the soil before Aomine and Kise. Kuroko was tickling Kise's stomach, while Kise squirmed around on the ground. If leopards could laugh, Akashi was sure Kise would be guffawing aloud.

Akashi smiled to himself. It was soothing that Kuroko possessed this affinity towards animals. Akashi couldn't explain why, but it calmed his heart to see Kuroko so at ease and in his element around animals. When he first met Kuroko, Akashi was sure Kuroko wasn't very comfortable around him – probably because Kuroko didn't have any human company around and hadn't been in contact with many people. But since then, he had certainly warmed up to Akashi.

When Kuroko entered the house, he had a smear of blood on his cheek.

Immediately, Akashi was all over Kuroko. "What happened, Kuroko?" he asked worriedly, reaching out to touch Kuroko's face. "Did you get hurt?"

"I'm alright," said Kuroko, laughing quietly. "Aomine-kun licked me, that's all. That idiot hadn't even swallowed all of his food and his mouth was all bloody…"

Akashi heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god…"

"I'll get to cooking dinner now, I guess," said Kuroko as he stretched his body. "Anything in particular you want to eat?"

Akashi shook his head. "I'm fine with whatever you cook," he replied. "Say… Kuroko? Have you baked before?"

"Huh? No…"

"Well, I have an oven in my house… and we can make an apple pie with the apples we've picked today," explained Akashi. "I'm only so-so with baking, but I'm sure if we follow a recipe, we'll be okay!"

Kuroko smiled. "I'd like that."


	6. Chapter 6

The apple pie that Akashi and Kuroko baked ended up burnt. Well, the crust was burnt. But the apple filling was delicious. Nevertheless, Akashi and Kuroko enjoyed eating the pie.

Once Akashi had cleaned up and Kuroko was lounging on the sofa, the doorbell rang.

"Eh? What's that sound?" Kuroko sat up, looking interested.

"That's the doorbell. It means I have a visitor. Probably," explained Akashi.

Kuroko peeked out through the glass sliding door, while Akashi answered the door. A very tall figure with purple hair was standing at the small gate. He was carrying a black plastic bag in one hand; the other hand was stuffing some sort of snack into his mouth.

Kuroko could hear Akashi ask, "Murasakibara, what are you doing here?"

"Why does Aka-chin have to move so far out? It took me half-an-hour to get here, you know?"

A short moment later, the giant stepped into Akashi's house, followed by Akashi. He handed the plastic bag to Akashi. "Here," he said. "Peaches from my mother."

"Oh?" Akashi looked surprised to receive such a gift from the man. "Thank you very much. It's strange for you to willingly give out food."

"I know, right?" the man deadpanned. "But my mother insisted that I give some to you. If I didn't, a deadly punishment awaits me," he said, shuddering. "I guess she's worried about you living out here all alone."

Akashi chuckled softly. "I'm fine – she doesn't have to worry. Please thank your mother for the peaches and send my regards to her," he said. Then he turned towards Kuroko, who was watching their exchange. "Oh, Kuroko? This is my friend Murasakibara Atsushi. We've known each other since high school."

Kuroko stood up and bowed. "It's nice to meet you, Murasakibara-san."

Murasakibara walked towards Kuroko. He pressed his palm on Kuroko's head. "Kuro-chin is really small," he commented.

"Everyone is small to you, Murasakibara," Akashi told Murasakibara.

"Not my fault." Murasakibara shrugged. "Well, I'd better get going – it's going to be another long drive home," he announced.

Akashi was rummaging for something in the kitchen, judging from the sounds of plastic rustling and cupboard doors slamming shut. He brought out three boxes and gave them to Murasakibara. "Here," he said. "I don't have many snacks here, but this should do."

"Ah." Murasakibara took the boxes from Akashi. "Thank you, Aka-chin."

Then, Murasakibara let himself out, waving goodbye to Akashi.

Kuroko was gazing at the door, into which Murasakibara had disappeared. "He seems like a nice person," he said.

"Yes," said Akashi. "He's a good friend, but he's very lazy. Would you like some peaches, by the way?"

Kuroko shook his head. "I'm still full from the pie," he said. "Maybe later."

At that point, Tama jumped onto the sofa and climbed onto Kuroko's lap. Kuroko gently stroked her head as she nuzzled her face into Kuroko's stomach. She lied down on Kuroko's lap and began dozing off.

"Say… can I kidnap you tonight?" asked Akashi, collapsing onto the sofa beside Kuroko and slinging an arm around Kuroko's shoulder.

"Does it constitute as kidnap if you have to ask for permission?" inquired Kuroko with a playful smile.

Akashi laughed. "You're right," he said. "Let me rephrase my question. Is it okay for you to spend the night? I want to take you somewhere tonight."

Kuroko had never spent the night elsewhere before. Well, he had nowhere else to go anyway.

"What I'm asking is if Aomine and Kise will be alright by themselves tonight?"

Kuroko looked thoughtful. "I don't know… I guess? I mean, they aren't young cubs… so I think they'll be okay? They'll probably make a bit of noise, but they should be fine." He peered at Akashi. "May I ask why, though?"

"I want to take you star-gazing," replied Akashi. "My family has a vacation home on a hill about forty-five minutes' drive from here. The stars are beautiful when viewed from there," he explained.

"Oh?" That piqued Kuroko's interest. "You'll be driving? You can drive?!" he blurted out excitedly.

Akashi tried to hide his smile at Kuroko's enthusiasm. He found it endearing that every little thing seemed to excite Kuroko. But that was probably because it was Kuroko's first time experiencing such things. "Yeah, I can drive – I got my license when I was 19 years old," Akashi told Kuroko.

"I have never ridden in a car before," admitted Kuroko wistfully.

"I thought so," said Akashi knowingly. "I don't know how you would feel sitting in a moving car for the first time, since I've been riding in cars for as long as I can remember… but I'll try not to drive too fast so that I don't scare you, alright?"

Kuroko placed his hand on Akashi's lap. "I trust you."

Akashi leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on Kuroko's lips. "Thank you."

* * *

That night, at about 8pm, Akashi and Kuroko started their journey to the Akashi vacation home.

"If you don't mind me asking," began Kuroko after a while in the car. "Why did you choose to stay in your grandfather's house instead of your vacation home for your sabbatical?"

"Hmm… that's actually quite a good question," murmured Akashi. "Well, I wanted a different scenery, a different way of life," he said. "The vacation home was familiar to me, as I spent quite a lot of time there when I was growing up, so that was out of the question."

"I see."

"Besides…" Akashi took Kuroko's hand with his left hand, while keeping his right hand on the steering wheel. He stole a loving glance at Kuroko. "If I hadn't moved to my grandfather's house, I wouldn't have met you."

Kuroko's cheeks turned pink; it was clear even in the darkness of the night. He bit his lower lip bashfully and turned his face away to look out of the window. There was a comfortable silence after that. Kuroko spent most of the car ride looking out of the window and enjoying the sights that passed him by.

When Akashi and Kuroko reached their destination, both of them got out of the car. Akashi grabbed a blanket from the back seat and wrapped it around Kuroko's shoulder. "It gets rather chilly up here, and you don't have anything warmer, so yeah…"

"Thanks," mumbled Kuroko.

Akashi took Kuroko's hand and led him a little higher up the hill to a clearing where trees were scarce and they could get a good view of the sky.

"Whoa…" Kuroko stared in wonderment at the stars in the sky. "You were right – they're beautiful!"

Akashi and Kuroko sat down on the grass. Kuroko snuggled up to Akashi, and Akashi wrapped an arm around Kuroko, bringing him closer.

"You know anything about constellations, Kuroko?"

Kuroko shook his head. "No."

Akashi chuckled. "Well, neither do I," he confessed. "But I do know that one up there," Akashi pointed at a particular position in the sky. "Is my star sign, Sagittarius – you can see the arrow he is aiming out."

Kuroko squinted at the sky. "I can't make out anything," he said, frowning.

"That's okay," Akashi comforted Kuroko. "It takes a while to get the hang of making them out. I couldn't picture Sagittarius even after a long time, and I still can't picture the other constellations."

"Mm…"

"You know, when my family came here for holidays, I used to sneak out after bedtime to watch the stars. My parents thought I was an obedient boy, but I guess I was sort of a rebel after all." Akashi laughed quietly.

When there was no reply from Kuroko, Akashi looked sideways to see if Kuroko was paying attention. But Kuroko had fallen asleep. It was no surprise to Akashi – it had been a long day after all, and Kuroko did tell Akashi that he always had a ridiculously low stamina.

Akashi smiled affectionately. There was no sound from the couple after that.


	7. Chapter 7

When Kuroko woke up the following morning, he was lying in a king-sized bed with soft pillows and a comfortable blanket. The room was unfamiliar to him, and he was alone. But the bed smelt like Akashi, so Kuroko presumed that it was the bed Akashi usually slept in.

Kuroko sat up and looked around the bedroom. It was quite spacious, but there was nothing very personal about the room. It looked like a place that Akashi came only to sleep.

Speaking of Akashi, where was he anyway?

Kuroko got out of bed and made his way out of the bedroom. Akashi's grandfather's house was a one-storey residence, so when Kuroko stepped out of the room, in a sense, he was already in the living room. He could see Akashi sleeping on the three-seater sofa. Meanwhile, Tama was already awake and eating from the timed food dispenser in the corner.

Kuroko approached Akashi's slumbering form and gazed at him. Personally, Kuroko was surprised that Akashi didn't just get into his bed and slept beside Kuroko – there was plenty of space. And being a healthy young man with an attraction towards his partner, Kuroko expected that Akashi would have tried to remove his clothes and sneak in a fondle or two as he laid down with Kuroko. But on the contrary, Akashi was a perfect gentleman – he gave his whole bed to Kuroko, allowing Kuroko to be comfortable, while he settled for an uncomfortable rest on the couch. Furthermore, Kuroko had woken up in the exact state that he had fallen asleep in. That said something about Akashi's integrity.

Kuroko believed he had just fallen deeper in love with Akashi.

Tama had finished her food. She trotted over to Kuroko and rubbed her body against his ankle.

Kuroko knelt down to stroke Tama's back. "Good morning, Tama," he greeted the cat. Using both hands, Kuroko picked Tama up. "Why don't we cook some breakfast for your master?"

Tama meowed in reply.

* * *

Akashi had walked Kuroko back home to his cottage. Kuroko claimed that he would be alright making the journey back home, but Akashi insisted that he walked with Kuroko to make sure Kuroko reached home safely and unharmed. Akashi left as soon as Kuroko was inside his cottage safe and sound, saying that he had a few errands to run.

As soon as Kuroko had closed the door, a lightning bolt of yellow fur pounced onto him, sending him tumbling to the floor. Immediately, a large rough tongue attacked Kuroko's face, dribbling slobber all over him. There was a lot of whining on the leopard's part.

"Kise-kun…" Kuroko was laughing at the distressed animal. He reached his arms out and around Kise's body to stroke his back placatingly. "I was only gone for one night…"

A growl sounded from behind Kise, and Kuroko tilted his head to look at a black panther glaring disdainfully at him. "Nothing happened between us, Aomine-kun," Kuroko told Aomine. "Akashi-kun took me stargazing, that's all. He's the perfect gentleman."

Aomine raised an eyebrow, looking like he didn't quite believe Kuroko. Nevertheless, he approached Kuroko and sniffed him. Seemingly satisfied with what he smelt on Kuroko, Aomine's gaze softened, and he nuzzled Kuroko's shoulder.

Kuroko smiled, and turned his attention back to Kise, who has stopped licking Kuroko's face but was still whining. He had lowered himself onto Kuroko's body and was rubbing his face against Kuroko's neck. "Kise-kun, I'm sorry, okay?" Kuroko apologised. "I'm sorry for making you worry. To make up for it, I'll do anything you want. That okay?"

Kise's whining stopped, and he looked up at Kuroko with a glassy-eyed expression. He meowed happily, and jumped off Kuroko. He ran around in circles a little comically, as Aomine looked on while rolling his eyes.

Kuroko watched Kise in amusement. It was good to know that nothing had changed at home.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Two years later…**_

Akashi had originally intended for his sabbatical to last for two years. He wasn't sure what he had planned to do after that either. He fully intended to continue writing, of course, but he didn't know what sort of genre he would write. He used to write teen/young adult fiction, as he identified with that age group. Now that he had grown older and more adult, Akashi thought that he should move on as well.

Akashi had also thought that he would move out of his grandfather's house when his sabbatical was over. He didn't think that he would live there long-term.

But Akashi's meeting with Kuroko, and the fact that they were lovers now was making Akashi think twice about his sabbatical and moving out of his grandfather's place. He wanted to stay with Kuroko for as long as he lived. However, Akashi didn't know if Kuroko wanted to leave the forest he had called home for so long. If Kuroko wished to stay, Akashi wouldn't hesitate to stay with him.

It had been two years and counting, and Akashi was still on his sabbatical. He could prolong it – it wasn't like he was short on money; Akashi had a hefty savings from his writing (considering he had been an author since he was in high school, he had managed to save up a lot of money), and he had quite a large inheritance from his father.

If Kuroko found it strange that Akashi hadn't brought up the topic of the impending end of his sabbatical, Kuroko didn't ask. Perhaps Kuroko wanted to respect Akashi's privacy. But Akashi wished Kuroko would talk about it, so that he could come clean with these insecurities he had.

Akashi knocked twice on Kuroko's door and twisted the doorknob. Kuroko usually kept his front door unlocked – he didn't see the need to lock it as nobody would break into his home in the middle of a forest. So Akashi usually knocked to announce his presence. This time, he had brought some mochi sweets to share with Kuroko. "Tetsuya?" Akashi called out. About a year into their relationship, Akashi and Kuroko had taken to addressing each other by their first names.

The sight that greeted Akashi was not a pleasant one. Aomine and Kise were tangled in some sort of net. They were growling and struggling to disentangle themselves.

Akashi dropped the bag of snacks he was holding and ran towards Aomine and Kise. "Shh… shh…" he said pacifyingly to them. "Don't move or you'll make it worse. Let me cut it." Akashi quickly grabbed a pair of scissors from the kitchen counter and sliced the net, freeing the cats. As soon as the net was cut, both Aomine and Kise leapt out of the mess.

"Where's Tetsuya?" Akashi asked.

Aomine growled fiercely and made for the door. Kise whimpered and crouched down, lowering his ears flat onto his head.

"What? What happened?"

Aomine growled again and gestured with his head for Akashi to follow him. Then he sprinted out of the door.

Without wasting a second, Akashi ran out, trailing after the black panther. Kise followed not far behind.

The three of them dashed through the forest, with Aomine leading them from Kuroko's scent. They made their way deeper and deeper into the forest, until they could see hills and mountains.

Aomine rushed straight into a cave at the foot of a hill. Naturally, one would expect its interior to be pitch-black, but this cave was illuminated by torches and candles. Akashi was close behind the black panther, and he could see an old woman bent over Kuroko's unconscious figure lying on a surface. She was holding a knife and looked like she was about to slit Kuroko's neck. Akashi's heart leapt into his throat – he knew Kuroko could naturally live forever, but he would die by any other form of intervention towards his life. Kuroko could die!

Without hesitation, Aomine leapt towards the woman and clamped his jaws around her hand with an almighty roar. She cried out in partly in surprise but mostly in pain, and using her other hand that held the knife, slashed at Aomine. Aomine yowled in pain and let go of her hand, collapsing to the ground with a deep wound on his chest area. Kise yelped and scurried over to where Aomine had landed.

"Stupid cats," the woman grumbled as she rubbed her hand where Aomine had bitten it. "I thought I had already rendered them useless…"

Akashi stepped forward. He had a furious expression on his face. "Well, I freed them," he said.

The old woman frowned and squinted at Akashi. "And who are you?"

"That's not for you to know," Akashi replied calmly. "What's important is that you have taken my soul-mate and I am here to retrieve him."

The woman laughed sinisterly. "I'm sorry, but I will be drinking this man's blood and eating his heart to regain my youth, so he will be dying here today. And so will you!" With that, she lunged at Akashi, her knife held high.

Akashi barely managed to dodge the woman as she swung her knife at him. As he dived forward, his left leg swung out, kicking her in the stomach and sending her to the ground. Honestly, Akashi felt bad that he was fighting with an old woman, but what choice did he have? It was fight or die.

As quickly as the woman landed on the ground, she oscillated her legs upwards and leapt up. Akashi's eyes widened. Despite how old she looked, she possessed the agility of a young person.

The old woman bent her knees, preparing to launch forward at Akashi. Akashi, himself, stood with his hands held out, ready for any assault, as he prepared himself for her attack. She rushed forward, throwing her knife at Akashi. Akashi swayed his body out of the way to avoid the knife.

However, in a flash, the woman had managed to whip out another knife from her blouse. This time, she charged her arm at Akashi, and stabbed him on the right side of his stomach, twisting the knife within him to increase the pain.

Akashi cried out, falling back, as white hot pain engulfed him. The woman was cackling at him as she watched him fall to his knees.

Akashi gritted his teeth. He yanked the knife out of his stomach, grunting in the process to lessen the pain.

Akashi knew enough about human anatomy to be able to locate where the heart was, and hopefully, he had enough strength to pierce the knife into the woman's heart. Akashi rushed forward while the old woman was distracted gloating at the ease she brought a young man such as him down, aiming at her heart. Using all of his strength and with an almighty cry, Akashi rammed the knife into the old woman.

The woman's laughter died in her throat. Her eyes widened in shock before she collapsed to the ground, gurgling on her own blood.

Akashi, too, fell to the ground, clutching his stomach where the stab wound was. He knew that he was losing a lot of blood and that he would lose consciousness soon. The last thing Akashi remembered seeing before he blacked out was Kise's concerned face looming over him.


	9. Chapter 9

Kuroko came out of oblivion to the sensation of a tongue licking his face urgently. Where was he anyway? The air smelt… kind of stale. Kuroko knew he was definitely not at home in his cottage. He remembered cleaning up the animal hospital at home, and then there was a sharp pain on the back of his head… and then nothing.

Kuroko opened his eyes. It was dim all around him. He came face to face with a worried-looking Kise. "Kise-kun?" Kuroko rasped, reaching out to caress Kise's head. "Where are we?"

Kise whined and stole a glance to his right, at Aomine, who was crouched on the ground, panting heavily. "Aomine-kun?!" Kuroko sat straight up. "What's wrong?"

Kise shook his head and scratched at Kuroko's front. He directed Kuroko's gaze further into the cave.

Kuroko's eyes widened. Akashi was sprawled out on the ground, unmoving – he was clutching the side of his stomach, a pool of blood around him. Not far from him lay an old woman with a knife in her heart. It was clear that she was dead.

"Seijuurou-kun!" Kuroko cried, scrambling over to where Akashi was. "Oh my god, what happened here…?" Kuroko was close to tears by then. He checked for Akashi's pulse, and heaved a sigh of relief when he found it. _Seijuurou-kun is alive!_ Tears leaked out of Kuroko's eyes from joy.

Kuroko pried Akashi's hand away from the wound on his stomach. He winced at it. Somehow, Kuroko could stomach seeing injuries on animals, but maybe it was because he was a human being as well, so seeing an injury on a fellow human being made him feel a sense of empathy. Kuroko placed his hands over Akashi's wound, and a glow emanated from his palms.

Soon, the skin on Akashi's stomach closed up. But he had lost a lot of blood, so Kuroko didn't expect him to be conscious anytime soon.

Kise then nudged Kuroko's arm with his head. He tilted his head towards Aomine.

"Hm?" Kuroko glanced at Aomine. "Are you hurt too, Aomine-kun?" Kuroko crawled towards Aomine. When he saw blood dripping from Aomine's front, Kuroko manually manoeuvred Aomine to lie on his back so that he could access the injury. Kuroko smiled gently at Aomine. "It's quite deep but not that serious," he said. "You should be as good as new when I am done."

After Kuroko had healed Aomine's wound, the black panther got to his feet and jumped up and down to test his body out. He nodded in satisfaction.

Kise moved towards Aomine, an expression of concern etched into his face. Aomine gave Kise a goofy grin and licked the leopard all over his face.

"Now we should get out of here," muttered Kuroko as he stood up. "Aomine-kun? Do you have the strength to carry Seijuurou-kun on your back so that we can go home?" Kuroko really didn't want to burden Aomine right after he had just recovered from an injury, but he was no doubt the strongest out of the three of them.

Aomine nodded.

Kuroko and Kise hauled Akashi's body onto Aomine's back. As they made their way out of the cave, Kuroko looked back at the dead woman with a grim expression, saying a silent prayer for her soul to rest eternally in peace.

* * *

When Kuroko, Aomine and Kise reached home, Kuroko transferred Akashi's unconscious body to his bed. But first, he removed Akashi's bloody shirt and replaced it with one of his own. Then, Kuroko covered Akashi with his blanket – it could get cold in his cottage in the forest because he didn't have any form of heating, and Kuroko didn't want his boyfriend freezing to death.

Kuroko proceeded to gather some herbs from the small garden he kept outside his house to make something for Akashi to drink when he woke up.

While the pot was boiling on the stove, Aomine and Kise were playfully rolling all over each other on the floor, both happy to make it out of that ordeal safe and sound.

"Aomine-kun, I have just mended your wound," Kuroko said nonchalantly while stirring the herbal concoction in the pot. "I suggest you take it easy for now."

Briefly, Kuroko wondered if Tama would be okay if Akashi was incapacitated. Perhaps he should go to Akashi's place to retrieve her. She was very fond of Aomine and Kise anyway, so Tama would be more than happy to spend some time in Kuroko's cottage.

When the brew had finished cooking, Kuroko poured it into a thermos flask, which he placed on the kitchen counter.

"Kise-kun, I am trusting you to look after Aomine-kun and watch over Seijuurou-kun, alright?" Kuroko told Kise as he put on his shoes and made his way out of his home. "I'm just going to collect Tama so that she won't be alone."

Kise meowed in acquiescence.


	10. Chapter 10

In the middle of the night, Akashi stirred for a brief moment. There was a rustle from Kuroko's bed, and Kuroko, who was snoozing lightly in a chair by the bedside, immediately jolted awake.

"Seijuurou-kun?" Kuroko whispered, scooting closer to the bed. He hovered over Akashi. "Can you hear me?"

Akashi moaned quietly. "Tetsuya?"

"Shh, don't speak – you've lost a lot of blood," said Kuroko.

Akashi reached forward to stroke Kuroko's cheek. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

Kuroko chuckled softly. "I'm alright. You should be more worried about yourself – I healed the stab wound but I cannot recover your blood loss," he told Akashi. "Wait here – I've made something for you to drink to replenish your blood."

Kuroko hastily left his room to make his way into the kitchen where he kept the flask with the herbal concoction. He poured some into a bowl and brought it back into his room.

Kuroko helped Akashi get into a sitting position. Then, he gave the bowl to Akashi. "Drink slowly," said Kuroko. "It's still rather hot."

Akashi thanked Kuroko and drank from the bowl. When he was done, Kuroko tucked him back into bed under the blankets. "You should go back to sleep. Your body needs it to generate more blood cells," Kuroko informed Akashi gently, kissing him on the forehead.

Akashi closed his eyes, and then he was out like a light.

* * *

Akashi spent most of the following day sleeping. When he woke up, it was to two pairs of curious feline eyes peering at him.

"Aomine, Kise…" Akashi murmured with a warm smile at the two cats. "You guys did good, leading me to Tetsuya." He reached forward to rub Aomine and Kise on their heads. "Thank you."

Aomine tapped Akashi's nose with his paw, as if to say, _Don't mention it. Besides, we love him as well._

Kise licked Akashi's cheek affectionately, purring as he did so.

Akashi smiled. "I like that sound," he commented.

Kise stopped purring. He blinked in confusion.

"Your purring," said Akashi.

Kise broke into a grin and resumed licking Akashi's face but with more enthusiasm.

"Kise-kun, please don't suffocate my boyfriend," instructed Kuroko as he walked into his room, holding a towel. "I'd rather him be alive, you know."

Both Aomine and Kise's faces disappeared from Akashi's view. Out of the corner of his eye, Akashi could see them run towards Kuroko cheerfully to greet him. Kuroko responded to them with gentle pats to their heads. Then, Aomine and Kise headed out of Kuroko's room.

Kuroko shifted his attention to Akashi. He strode to the bed and placed his hand on top of Akashi's. "Seijuurou-kun, how are you feeling?"

"Much better," replied Akashi with a smile. "I don't feel so tired anymore."

Kuroko squeezed Akashi's hand. "That's good – it means that your body has managed to restore the blood you've lost," he spoke.

Akashi gazed at Kuroko lovingly. "Thank you, Tetsuya."

"Don't be silly," Kuroko scolded Akashi. "You don't have to thank me – I love you. Besides, I should be the one thanking you for saving me. I don't really know what happened, but I know that if you hadn't showed up, I'd probably be dead."

Akashi laughed at Kuroko. "I love you too, you know," he said. "I would have done anything for you, Tetsuya."

Kuroko knelt down and leaned over Akashi to kiss him on the mouth. There was a contented hum from Akashi, and he kissed back with enthusiasm.

When Akashi and Kuroko broke apart, Kuroko pressed the towel he was holding onto Akashi's hand. "Do you want to take a bath?"

Akashi heaved his body upwards with a loud groan. Then, he grinned cheekily at Kuroko. "Take it with me?"

Kuroko immediately flushed a bright red. "I… I don't know…" he stammered.

Akashi sighed, but he was looking at Kuroko with an amused smile. He thought that it was adorable how Kuroko could still be embarrassed about seeing his unclothed body. Akashi and Kuroko had seen each other naked many times, while taking baths and showers together, and sometimes while swimming in the river, but they hadn't had sex yet. "Tetsuya, what are you still so embarrassed about?" teased Akashi. "We've been naked together countless of times. Moreover, it's not like you have anything to be embarrassed about – you're gorgeous!"

"Seijuurou-kun!" Kuroko's face was beet red, and Akashi could just picture smoke coming out of his ears.

"Cute…" Akashi mumbled to himself, reaching out to run his finger down the side of Kuroko's face. "So?" This was directed at Kuroko.

"I… I'll take a bath with you!" yelled Kuroko with his eyes squeezed shut in flusterment. He was still blushing. "I'll draw the bath for us," Kuroko muttered, before practically fleeing into the bathroom.

Akashi beamed smugly at Kuroko's disappearing figure.

A short while later, Kuroko returned to Akashi's side. He tugged on Akashi's trousers. "Aren't you going to get undressed?"

Akashi winked at Kuroko. "How about you undress me?"

Kuroko sighed, but he was smiling at Akashi. "You're incorrigible."


	11. Chapter 11

When Akashi and Kuroko had finished bathing, it was almost midnight. Since Akashi and Kuroko were almost the same size (Akashi being only slightly taller than Kuroko), Akashi borrowed some of Kuroko's larger clothes.

Akashi had settled himself on the ground in front of Kuroko's garden, and was gazing blankly at the plants and herbs that grew there.

Meanwhile, Kuroko was brewing some tea for Akashi. When the tea was done, Kuroko exited his cottage and headed towards Akashi. "Here," he said, handing the cup of tea over to Akashi.

Akashi accepted the cup and thanked Kuroko. "Sit with me for a while, will you, Tetsuya?" he requested. "I have something to ask you."

Kuroko made himself comfortable beside Akashi. "What is it, Seijuurou-kun?"

Akashi coughed to clear his throat. "I don't know how to say this… I know that two men can't get married legally, at least not in Japan. But I know that I am hopelessly in love with you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, loving you and making you happy," said Akashi. "So… will you marry me? Symbolically, of course – we can't sign any papers, heck, I don't even know if you're a legitimate citizen with your age and all that… but I'll get you a wedding ring-"

Kuroko threw his arms around Akashi and planted a wet, sloppy kiss on Akashi's lips to shut him up. "Seijuurou-kun, you talk too much," Kuroko murmured into the kiss. "Give me a chance to reply, will you?"

"Mmhk!"

Kuroko dislodged himself from Akashi's mouth. He smiled tenderly and reached forward to brush Akashi's bangs out of his face. "Before I give you a response, I have a question I must first ask you."

Akashi looked at Kuroko questioningly.

"What about your leave from your work?" inquired Kuroko. "I thought that you were going to move out of your grandfather's house and go back to your home in the city when you return to being an author?

Akashi pressed his lips into a thin line. He placed the half-empty cup of tea on the ground. "That's the thing," he said. "If you're not with me, it's meaningless. I don't want a life without you in it," he told Kuroko.

"What… what does that mean?"

"What I'm saying… is that I am going to make my grandfather's house my permanent home, and I'd like it if you would move in with me," declared Akashi. "It's close enough to the forest that Aomine and Kise can still hunt and play, and there's not much human contact either, so you don't have to worry about explaining your immortality. You can choose whether or not to talk to people."

"But what about your work?"

"Being an author, I can work from anywhere in the world," replied Akashi. "I just have to maintain contact with my editor, and everything should work out."

Kuroko's lower lip trembled; it was obvious he was trying his best not to cry.

"Tetsuya? What's wrong?"

Kuroko turned away from Akashi and rubbed his eyes furiously. "Nothing's wrong!" he said. "It's just… you're willing to sacrifice your life for me… I feel so unworthy!"

"Tetsuya…" Akashi took Kuroko's hand and pulled it away from his face. "I've said it many times before – I'd do anything for you. I couldn't imagine having anything more than you. You're my best friend. You're everything to me. Obviously, I don't want anything more," proclaimed Akashi. "Think of it this way – I'm not giving up anything, I'm just moving on with my life – I'm moving on to be with the man I love."

"Seijuurou-kun…"

"Knowing this, are you still willing to marry me?"

This time, tears did escape Kuroko's eyes. "Yes. A million times yes!" Kuroko cried. He slammed his lips onto Akashi's.

Akashi and Kuroko spent a quite a while kissing each other. Kuroko submitted to Akashi by opening his mouth and allowing Akashi's tongue to enter he mouth. When they finally broke apart, they found themselves reclined on the ground, with Kuroko on top of Akashi.

"Tetsuya?" Akashi asked quietly, looking deeply into Kuroko's eyes. He could drown himself in the depth of blueness in those eyes.

"Hm?"

"Can I make love to you?"

Kuroko giggled. "We are getting married; need you ask anymore?" he shyly questioned. "But I must warn you, though… I am a virgin – my past relationships have never lasted long enough for us to end up in bed, so I don't have any experience in the bedroom."

Akashi found himself gaping at Kuroko. To have lived a life for such a long time without fulfilling any of his carnal needs… Akashi found it very remarkable. "Seriously? But surely you must have… I don't know, pleasured yourself at some point?"

Kuroko shook his head. "No," he replied.

Oh, Kuroko was so innocent… "What about me? Do you ever think of me?"

Kuroko's cheeks turned pink. "Yeah… all the time. But I don't really know if I get… aroused, so to speak…"

Akashi wrapped his arms around Kuroko's waist, drawing closer to him and tilted Kuroko's head back, exposing his throat to Akashi. He ran a finger down Kuroko's neck. Akashi could feel Kuroko shudder delightfully in his arms. "I guess we'll have to discover that tonight, won't we?"

"Yeah," Kuroko breathed out.

Akashi got to his feet. Then, he gathered Kuroko into his arms and picked him up, bridal-style. "Let's take this to your room, shall we?"

"Y-Yeah."

* * *

Kuroko had his arms wrapped tightly around Akashi's shoulders as he was carried back to his bedroom. He buried his face into Akashi's chest. Kuroko wondered how Akashi could remain so calm at this moment. They were going to have sex for the first time! Kuroko's heart was hammering madly in his chest. He hoped that Akashi couldn't hear it – he didn't want to give Akashi the impression that he was nervous (even though he really was).

Akashi was quiet as he walked to Kuroko's room with Kuroko in his arms.

Kuroko only lifted his head from Akashi when he felt his back come into contact with the surface of his mattress. He unwrapped his arms from Akashi's body. Kuroko lay on his back and gazed at Akashi hovering above him.

Akashi leaned forward, sliding his hands underneath Kuroko's shirt. Because it had been rather chilly outside, Akashi's fingers were cold to the touch. Kuroko gasped and shivered a little as Akashi's hands came into contact with his skin.

Akashi smiled apologetically at Kuroko. "Sorry."

"It's okay," whispered Kuroko. "They'll warm up soon enough."

"Yeah… you're right," said Akashi. All the same, he blew into his hands to warm them up. Then, he spread out his fingers and ran his palms over Kuroko's stomach. Akashi's hands travelled upwards towards Kuroko's chest. He found Kuroko's right nipple and gave it an experimental pinch. Kuroko arched his back and took in a sharp intake of breath as a response. Even though he had grown accustomed to Akashi touching him, somehow, this time, everywhere Akashi touched Kuroko seemed to heat up intensely.

"You are so sensitive… it seems that every little thing I do causes such adorable reactions from you," murmured Akashi as he lowered his head to nibble at Kuroko's collarbone.

Kuroko blushed brightly. "Stop… stop saying such embarrassing things!" He wrapped his arms around Akashi's torso, running his hands down Akashi's back.

Akashi laughed lightly. "Can you feel how fast my heart is beating?" he asked Kuroko, manoeuvring Kuroko's hands to his chest. Kuroko could feel Akashi's heart beating in tune with his hammering heart.

"Y-yeah. I think… mine's the same way…"

Akashi gazed lovingly at Kuroko. He hooked his fingers over the hem of Kuroko's shirt. He lifted the shirt, pulling it over Kuroko's head. Kuroko lifted his back from the mattress to assist Akashi in removing his shirt.

Kuroko could see Akashi lick his lips. Then, Akashi kissed Kuroko passionately, submitting to his carnal desires.


	12. Chapter 12

When Akashi woke up the following morning, it was late. The morning sunlight was already seeping in through the window, bright and warm. Akashi had to shield his eyes with his arm for a short moment to get accustomed to the light.

When Akashi could see without squinting, he glanced to his side. Kuroko was still sleeping, curled up against Akashi's body. Akashi smiled warmly and ran his finger gently over Kuroko's face, brushing some of his hair back. Considering Kuroko got tired easily, and considering what they did last night, Akashi didn't really expect Kuroko to be awake for a while.

Akashi looked around Kuroko's room, trying to locate his clothes (well, technically, they were Kuroko's clothes, but they were the garments that Akashi had been wearing). He had sloppily thrown them onto the floor the previous night.

After Akashi had put on his clothes, he made his way out of Kuroko's room to head into the kitchen. He was going to make something for Kuroko and himself to eat.

But as soon as he exited Kuroko's room, Akashi was confronted by the three cats. Aomine and Kise were sniffing at him, while Tama was rubbing her body against his ankle. Akashi jumped, startled, when Kise let out a wail and ran off, whining like nobody's business. Akashi was sure that if Kise had been human, he was most definitely crying. Meanwhile, Aomine was rolling his eyes at Kise's reaction. Nevertheless, he shot a warning glare to Akashi before taking off to console his mate. Tama was left looking quite confused and a little lost by what had just transpired. Akashi, too, found himself staring in bewilderment at the empty space the two large felines had previously occupied.

"Ne, Tama?" Akashi asked his cat as he bent down to pick her up. "Do you think they know what Tetsuya and I did last night?" He observed his cat's sardonic expression, before sighing and saying, "Come to think of it, do YOU know what Tetsuya and I did last night?"

Tama meowed and licked her paw innocently.

Akashi walked out to the backyard, where Kise was lying on his stomach, his head resting on the ground with his two front paws covering most of his face. In fact, only his snout stuck out from between his paws. By then, Kise's whining had decreased in volume, and he was whimpering. Aomine was comforting him by licking the top of his head.

"Hey, Kise?" Akashi spoke out, kneeling beside the leopard and placing his free hand gently on Kise's back. "I think you know what happened between Tetsuya and I last night…"

Aomine shot Akashi a sarcastic look that said, _No kidding, we can practically smell him on you._

"Right," Akashi stammered, laughing nervously. "Well, I just want to assure you two that I love Tetsuya very much and I wouldn't do anything to hurt him. You have my word on that."

There was a pregnant pause as Akashi stared at Aomine and Kise. Aomine was still looking at Akashi with a blank expression, while Kise still had his face covered with his paws.

"In fact, I've actually asked Tetsuya for his hand in marriage and he said yes, so I guess you can say this is the next logical step in our relationship?" Akashi began rubbing Kise's back gently with his hand.

In the meantime, Tama was squirming in Akashi's arm, so he placed her down on the ground.

"Tetsuya and you guys will be moving into my place – it's close enough to the forest that you can still hunt and play around, and there's also a lot more space in the house for you to roughhouse. You would like that, won't you?"

Akashi could see that Aomine was nodding slowly and Kise was no longer whimpering. He was somewhat thrilled – the two of Kuroko's most important beings in his life were beginning to accept the idea of Akashi and Kuroko getting married.

"Seijuurou-kun?" Kuroko's voice came from the door.

Akashi's head shot up. He saw that Kuroko, like him, had put on his clothes in a haphazard manner. After stroking Kise's back one more time, Akashi got to his feet, making his way towards Kuroko. "Are you alright?" he asked. "You're not too sore or anything, are you?" He wondered why Kuroko didn't choose to sleep in. Akashi took Kuroko's hand into his and squeezed it softly.

"I'm fine," said Kuroko. "It was lonely without you there."

"Ah, I'm sorry about that," Akashi apologised. "I just wanted to let you rest some more."

"It's okay," Kuroko replied. "But there's something I want to talk to you about."

"Sure thing."

"Let's go inside first."

Kuroko led Akashi into his room. He sat Akashi down on the side of his bed before leaving Akashi alone for a short while to retrieve a knife from the kitchen.

"Tetsuya?" Akashi uttered, very alarmed by the presence of the knife in Kuroko's hand. "Why… why are you holding a knife? What is it for?"

Kuroko smiled at Akashi and leaned forward to peck Akashi on the lips. "Just listen to me first," he said.

"Right. Okay. I'm sorry."

Kuroko grasped Akashi's hand. He inhaled a deep breath. Then, he began speaking. "I've been thinking about this for a while, and what happened last night solidifies my decision," Kuroko explained. "With my being immortal, it is inevitable that you will die and I will have to go on with life without you. I don't want to live without you. I cannot imagine a life without you. I won't have it," said Kuroko with determination, looking into Akashi's eyes with a hard expression. "Therefore, I am going to share my immortality with you."

"What?" croaked Akashi. "Is that even possible?"

"Well, my immortality has somehow absorbed into Aomine-kun and Kise-kun by them living with me, and I wasn't even actively involved in that… so yes, it is possible," replied Kuroko.

"Then, won't I also be affected when you move in with me and I begin to live with you?"

"I don't think it works with human beings – animals and humans are totally different… Maybe it's because human beings have souls and consciences, I don't really know," admitted Kuroko. "Besides, the gods have given me an allowance of one person I can grant immortality to. Which means… I know of a sure way that you can become immortal like me."

"And what is that?"

"I transfer some of my blood into you," replied Kuroko calmly.

Akashi gulped. "You mean, like consuming your blood?!"

Kuroko smiled. "Well, you can do that," he said. "Do you want to?"

Akashi looked at Kuroko nervously. "I don't know…" he stuttered, glancing apprehensively at the knife in Kuroko's hand. "I don't want you hurting yourself over this."

"It's okay," Kuroko reassured Akashi and placed his palm against Akashi's left cheek. "I want to do this. I want to make you immortal," he said. "Now the question is: are you comfortable with drinking my blood? If not, I can make a small wound on your skin, and then I transfer my blood to you."

"I… I guess I choose the second option," replied Akashi. "At least if you're going to injure yourself for me, I should also get hurt in the process."

"Alright," said Kuroko. He grasped the hilt of the knife and held the knife to his left wrist. He made an incision on the front of his wrist.

Akashi winced when he saw the red liquid well up from the cut on Kuroko's wrist. It wasn't that he was queasy around blood; it simply was that someone he truly cared about was bleeding.

Then, Kuroko took Akashi's wrist. "I'm sorry – this is going to hurt a bit."

Akashi snorted. "Tetsuya, I have a very high pain tolerance. A minor cut like that won't be anything to worry about."

Kuroko smiled warmly at Akashi. "I know," he said simply.

Kuroko made another incision, this time on the front of Akashi's wrist. Then, he pressed the wound on his hand against the one on Akashi's, allowing for the transfer of blood to take place.

Akashi stared at both their hands blankly. For quite a while, he couldn't feel anything. He couldn't even tell if Kuroko's blood was really flowing into his body. But suddenly, Akashi felt a pleasant warmth creep into his body through the cut Kuroko had made. Slowly, the sensation travelled throughout his entire body. "I feel warm," Akashi murmured.

"Eh? Really?" Kuroko's head shot up and he stared at Akashi, surprised. "Does it feel good?"

"Yes. It feels really comfortable." Akashi closed his eyes and hummed. "I feel… sleepy too…"

"Is that so?" Kuroko laid Akashi down onto his bed without breaking the contact between their wrists. "Then you should sleep."

"But I just woke up," Akashi protested weakly. His eyes were still closed.

Kuroko laughed quietly. "If your body is telling you to sleep, then you should do it," he told Akashi.

That was the last thing Akashi heard before he knew no more.

* * *

When Akashi came around, it was to a whole lot of fur in his face. Akashi opened his eyes to find that he had his face buried into Kise's fur. The leopard had snuck into Kuroko's bed with Akashi and was napping silently beside him. In his sleep, Akashi had somehow managed to roll over to his side and snuggle up against Kise.

Akashi rolled onto his back to dislodge himself from Kise's body. He brought his hand to his face and observed the wrist that had been cut. There was no sign of an injury – Kuroko must have healed it when he was unconscious.

"Kise-kun wanted to apologise for overreacting this morning," came Kuroko's voice from the floor, where he was sitting and reading a book that Akashi had written (he had borrowed it from Akashi).

Akashi sat up and turned to look at Kuroko. "Oh? Is that why he's asleep next to me?"

"Yeah," replied Kuroko, his eyes not leaving the book. "He waited for you to wake up, but eventually he got bored and fell asleep."

Akashi smiled affectionately at the leopard and reached out to rub the feline's spine.

"How are you feeling?" asked Kuroko, finally looking away from his book to observe Akashi.

"Fantastic," Akashi replied, smiling. He flexed his arms to prove to Kuroko that he was a fit as a fiddle.

"Good," said Kuroko. He placed a bookmark in the book and closed it, before setting it down on the floor. He got to his feet and walked towards Akashi. "I was afraid that you were going to be horribly ill like I was for the first few days… but when you said that you felt good, I guess that was when my worries were quelled."

"You got sick?!" Akashi looked appalled. When Kuroko sat himself down by the edge of the bed, Akashi took Kuroko's hand into his.

"Yeah," replied Kuroko. "I guess it's different when you're getting it from the gods and when you're getting it from a man."

Akashi swallowed. "Does this mean… that I am immortal now?"

Kuroko smiled gently. "Yes. You are the one person that I have chosen to share the gift of immortality with," he explained. "I no longer can share it with anyone else."

"Oh…" The realisation that Kuroko had been saving the immortality gift for someone really special had begun to dawn upon Akashi. Because Kuroko could only share it with one person, he must have been waiting for the right person to come into his life. It was an indication to Akashi on how much Kuroko loved him – Kuroko loved him so much that Kuroko wanted to spend his life with him, so granting him immortality would be the reasonable thing to do. "Thank you."

Kuroko extended his arms to hug Akashi. "I love you, Seijuurou-kun," he said. "And now we can be together forever."

Akashi's lips curled into a smile as he leaned into Kuroko's embrace. "Always," he whispered, closing his eyes in contentment.


	13. Chapter 13

_**One year later…**_

Kuroko pushed open the gate that led to Akashi's house, hauling a rather heavy plastic bag behind him. Well, to be fair, since Akashi and Kuroko got married (not legally, but there was a small ceremony with a small number of Akashi's closest friends, with whom Kuroko got along splendidly, whereby Akashi and Kuroko exchanged vows and presented each other with rings), it had also become Kuroko's home.

With Akashi's encouragement, Kuroko had also gotten himself a part-time job in a small bookstore in the nearby village. It wasn't that they needed the money; on the contrary, Akashi brought in more than enough money for them to live comfortably for a long time. Akashi's reasoning was that Kuroko needed some human interaction in his life so that he could polish up on his social skills. Therefore, some form of employment would give Kuroko a chance to interact with people. Kuroko had to walk quite a fair distance to work, but he didn't mind – it gave him a chance to enjoy nature as he made his way to the bookstore.

Akashi had suggested that Kuroko not go into the job for long-term if he didn't want to build strong relationships with his colleagues and the people he met. This was so that nobody discovered that Kuroko didn't age. The plan was to change jobs every three to four years.

Akashi, too, would "retire" from being an author when he turned 60. His circumstance was a little easier, as he didn't need to meet with his editor – he communicated with her through phone and email, so the fact that he didn't age would be simpler to hide from his editor. Akashi only had to worry about telling his friends that he would never die (either that, or suddenly disappear from the face of the earth), but Akashi decided to concern himself with that later on in life.

Kuroko glanced up at an old cherry tree that was planted in front of the house. Akashi had told him it had been there even before his grandfather bought the house, so it was VERY old. Because it was so old, it was pretty sturdy as well – the trunk and branches were very thick, and could support the weight of a leopard and a black panther. Aomine and Kise were lounging on top of one of the branches. Both of them were being very lazy – Aomine looked like he was on the verge of falling asleep with his tail sluggishly swinging back and forth, while Kise was resting his head on his paws and staring blankly at Kuroko.

Meanwhile, Tama was running around the cherry tree, chasing nothing in particular with the stuffed carrot Akashi had bought for her. By now, she was the size of a full-grown cat. But her mischief could still rival that of a kitten.

"Aomine-kun, Kise-kun," said Kuroko. "I bought two pork legs from the market for you guys. You want to come down and eat?"

As soon as Aomine heard the word "pork", he was instantly awake; his head shot up and he immediately got to his feet, leaping from the tree to land gracefully on the ground.

Amused at Aomine's reaction to food, Kuroko placed the plastic bag onto the soil and began unwrapping the pork legs. "There's one for you and one for Kise-kun," Kuroko told Aomine. "No fighting."

Aomine rolled his eyes at Kuroko. _Since when do Kise and I fight for food? If anything, I always let him have first dibs!_

"Yes, I know, Aomine-kun," said Kuroko, patting the black panther on the head. "You are such a gentleman."

As if on cue, Kise's nose appeared in front of the pork legs and began sniffing.

Aomine used his snout to push one of the legs towards Kise, urging him to eat first.

Kise dug into his pork leg, and once Aomine saw that Kise was dining comfortably only did he begin chomping down on his own pork leg.

Tama had shimmied over to Kuroko and was meowing incessantly at him, looking a bit peeved that Aomine and Kise had food while she had none. The stuffed carrot was on the ground. Kuroko looked down, and picked her and the stuffed carrot up. When Tama was safe in his arm, Kuroko handed her the stuffed carrot, which she grabbed greedily. "Yes, yes," he said, stroking Tama's fur gently. "We'll get you some food too, okay, Tama?"

Kuroko was watching the two large felines eat when he felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around his waist. "You bought them meat from the market again, Tetsuya? You're spoiling them too much," a silky voice chided good-naturedly into Kuroko's ear.

"Well, now that I live nearer to the market, it is easier to buy meat for Aomine-kun and Kise-kun," reasoned Kuroko. He was still stroking Tama's fur and the cat looked like she was enjoying it.

"Yes," replied Akashi. "But now they don't go out and hunt as much as they used to."

Kuroko laughed quietly. "Give them a break," he told Akashi. "They're very old, especially for animals. Now there's no need for them to hunt so regularly when I can easily get them meat from the market. They'll hunt when they want to."

Akashi sighed, but he was smiling. "Well, I suppose so…"

Kuroko turned his head to the right so that he could have better access to Akashi's face. He kissed Akashi lightly on the cheek. "And how's your writing going? Still have that writer's block?"

"Yes, I'm stuck at a major plot twist in the story – I don't know how to continue after introducing that plot twist," lamented Akashi. "But don't worry about it – I always get over it. It's just a matter of time."

Kuroko turned around in Akashi's arms to face the redhead. He reached out to touch Akashi's face gently. "Of course you will. You're Seijuurou – you always manage to surpass everyone's expectations of you."

Akashi snorted, and planted a kiss on Kuroko's lips. "You are flattering me, Tetsuya."

Kuroko smiled. "Can I not flatter my lover?"

"I suppose it's only right that you do so…" mused Akashi thoughtfully, smiling playfully at Kuroko. Then, he disentangled his hands from around Kuroko's waist, and took Kuroko's hands. "Come, let's go for a drive. I want you to meet my parents."

"Eh?"


	14. Chapter 14

Akashi and Kuroko walked through the graveyard silently. Akashi led the way by walking in front of Kuroko, but he was holding onto Kuroko's hand. Kuroko had never seen the place where Akashi's parents were laid to rest – every year on their respective death anniversaries, Akashi would make the trip to the graveyard to pay his respects alone. Kuroko had always offered to accompany him, but Akashi always said that it was okay and that Kuroko didn't have to trouble himself.

Finally, after walking a fair distance to the far end of the graveyard, Akashi and Kuroko reached a statue of an angel. Below it were two tombstones. Each tombstone bore a name and a photo: one belonged to an Akashi Shiori with the photograph of a beautiful woman with flowing red hair who bore a striking resemblance to Akashi, and the other belonged to an Akashi Masaomi with the photograph of a stern-looking man with whom Akashi shared some features. Also engraved on the tombstones were the years they were born as well as the years they died.

Akashi placed the bouquet of flowers he had bought earlier on in between the two tombstones. Then, he knelt down in front of them. Kuroko followed suit.

"Mother, Father," Akashi began. "I would like you to meet my life partner and my husband, Kuroko Tetsuya," he said before pausing and gazing at Kuroko lovingly.

"I realise that he is a man," continued Akashi, tearing his eyes away from Kuroko to face the tombstones. "But this man has made me happier than I ever have. He is everything to me, and I could not ask for anyone else. I am not asking for your blessing – it is too late for that as we are now happily married; I just want you to meet him and vice-versa."

Kuroko decided that he should say something too. "Ano, Akashi-san… and Akashi-san?" he said in a small voice. "I know Seijuurou-kun is your precious son, and he is a precious person to me too. So you can rest easy, for I will take good care of Seijuurou-kun, and I will continue to shower him with love and treat him like the king he deserves to be."

"Tetsuya," hissed Akashi. "Now you're the one saying embarrassing things…"

Kuroko didn't reply. Instead, he grinned at Akashi and Eskimo-kissed him. He turned back to the tombstones. "Thank you for bringing Seijuurou-kun into this world."

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew through Akashi and Kuroko. Kuroko inhaled the air deeply – there was a pleasant-smelling element to it that wasn't in the air before and that Kuroko couldn't quite place.

"Seijuurou-kun?"

"Hm?"

"I think your parents have given us their blessing," replied Kuroko.

Akashi smiled at Kuroko. He leaned forward to brush Kuroko's hair out of his face. Then, Akashi planted a kiss on Kuroko's forehead. "I think so too."

* * *

That night, Akashi and Kuroko lay in bed, spent from their love-making. Akashi scooted closer to Kuroko so that he could spoon him. When Akashi draped an arm over Kuroko's stomach, Kuroko didn't hesitate to grasp Akashi's hand with both of his hands, holding on like his life depended on it.

"Thanks for taking me to see your parents today," said Kuroko quietly.

"Oh, I just thought-"

"Your mother was really beautiful," continued Kuroko. He sounded wistful. "You look just like her."

"Yeah… I have been told that…"

"I don't remember my parents – it's been far too long and they died in a fire when I was very young… I don't even remember what they looked like," said Kuroko contemplatively. "But going to see your parents today reminded me of what parental love feels like. Not directly, but I could feel it through the love in their faces, you know?"

Akashi tightened his hold on Kuroko's body. "I'm sorry – I didn't want to make you feel sad-"

Kuroko shook his head. "No. I am glad," he said. "I'm glad that you got to experience their love and became the person you are today."

Akashi hummed. "I think… if they were alive today, they would have liked you. My mother especially."

Kuroko yawned. "That's nice to know."

"Tired?"

"Yeah. You wore me out," Kuroko told Akashi. There was a playful tone in his voice.

"Then you should sleep." Akashi curled his fingers against Kuroko's bare stomach.

"Okay. Good night, Seijuurou-kun."

"Good night," replied Akashi. "Sweet dreams, my darling."

It wasn't long before Akashi felt Kuroko's shoulders relax and his breathing evened out. He snuggled against Kuroko's body and buried his face into the back of Kuroko's neck. Akashi thought back to what he said in front of his parents' grave. When he said that he was happier than he had ever been, he really meant it. Over time, as Akashi had grown to love Kuroko more and more, he was feeling increasingly content with his life. Kuroko was a very important aspect of Akashi's life – he was Akashi's rock and pillar, supporting him when he needed it; Kuroko was Akashi's shoulder to cry on. Akashi could not ask for anyone else. Kuroko was the piece in the jigsaw puzzle of Akashi's life that made it complete.

Akashi closed his eyes and smiled to himself. He inhaled deeply, breathing in Kuroko's scent. Yes, Akashi truly was happy and he wouldn't change a thing about his life.


End file.
